Experts

David Leblang

Randolph P. Compton Professor
Leblang CV (1).pdf

Fast Facts

  • Randolph P. Compton Professor and director of policy research at the Miller Center
  • Studies global migration and international investment and the spread of democracy
  • Expertise in international political economy, politics, economic policy, financial crises

Areas Of Expertise

  • Foreign Affairs
  • Immigration
  • Economic Issues
  • Finance and Banking
  • Trade
  • Political Parties and Movements

David Leblang is the Miller Center's Randolph P. Compton Professor and director of policy research. He is also the Ambassador Henry J. Taylor and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Endowed Professor of Politics and professor of public policy at the University's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy.

A scholar in the area of international political economy, he is currently working on two major projects. The first is a book-length study of the role that global migration plays in linking host and home countries and how these linkages help explain observed patterns of international investment, remittance flows, and the spread of democracy. The second project is related but focuses on the destination choices of refugees and illegal migrants. Prior to studying flows of migrants and refugees, Leblang's projects were in the area of global capital flows: the causes and consequences of exchange rate arrangements, capital controls, and currency crises. His work has been published in outlets such as the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, International Organization, World Politics and Economics and Politics. He currently serves on the steering committee of the International Political Economy Society and is the editor of SSRN's International Political Economy Migration eJournal.

Prior to arriving at the University of Virginia in 2008, Leblang held teaching positions at the University of Colorado, the University of North Texas, and the College of William and Mary. He has been a visiting scholar in the research department of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission's Directorate of Economics and Finance, and has been a visiting fellow at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, the Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano in Milan, and the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. In 2015, Leblang was awarded the Outstanding Faculty Mentoring Award by the University of Virginia and in 2016 he received the Outstanding Mentoring Award from the Society of Women in International Political Economy of the International Studies Association.

Featured Publications

Ties That Bind
The Ties That Bind

David Leblang (co-author)

David Leblang News Feed

Charlottesville Tomorrow
Community Commentary/Opinion: You can be a good neighbor and a global citizen during the COVID-19 crisis
Are you trying to decide what steps to take about the coronavirus? Maybe you are in an area where there have not yet been any confirmed cases. You may feel confused about the risk, embarrassed about people saying you are under- or over-reacting, or sad that you have to cancel a vacation. Instead of feeling confused or nervous, take action and make some changes and a preparedness plan. Here are the three levels on which to think about why that is a good idea.
David Leblang Charlottesville Tomorrow
Border wall
Border wars
Join Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Michael D. Shear, Washington correspondents for the New York Times, as they discuss their new book, Border Wars, which provides an inside account of the defining issue of Donald Trump’s presidency: his steadfast opposition to immigration to the U.S. Davis and Shear have covered the Trump administration from its earliest days. In Border Wars, they document how Trump and his allies blocked asylum-seekers and refugees, separated families, threatened deportation, and challenged the longstanding bipartisan consensus that immigrants make positive contributions to America.
David Leblang Miller Center Presents
L'Express
Les paris en ligne, nouveau baromètre de la présidentielle américaine?
But are political bets more reliable than polls? The question agitated the American academic community in the run-up to the presidential elections and three years after the coronation of Donald Trump, whom nobody had seen coming. "Today, we all ask the question," smiles David Leblang, professor of political science at the University of Virginia. With his team, he uses PredictIt's data for his research. Thanks to them, he was able to anticipate the results of local elections in Virginia in early November. With success. "The polls are very imperfect, people do not necessarily answer what they think or, when their opinion is controversial, they prefer not to answer, says the political scientist.But with the predictive markets, voters put money on their opinions, they do not lie.In addition, bets cost nothing to create, unlike the polls, which allows to have a multitude and distinguish political phenomena otherwise invisible.
David Leblang L'Express
WGBH
Accusing Trump Of Racial Animus, Liberians Facing Deportation Are Fighting To Stay
Trump’s termination of DED is in line with his overarching style of immigration policy, said David Leblang, a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Virginia and a senior fellow at the Miller Center for Public Affairs. “Trump's been pretty consistent in making a statement that we are going to close our borders, and we're not going to be welcoming of people who are in need,” said Leblang, citing the Trump administration's 2017 travel ban against five Muslim-majority countries and the recently struck down "public charge law" introduced by Trump, which aimed to bar immigrants who would rely on public programs.
David Leblang WGBH
Daily Progress
'Enrique's Journey' author Nazario talks about immigration during Welcoming Week
Nazario will be joined by moderator David Leblang, who is Randolph Compton Professor of International Affairs at the Miller Center and is the Ambassador Henry J. Taylor and Mrs. Marion R. Taylor Endowed Professor of Politics. He also serves as professor of public policy in the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, and as director of its Global Policy Center. During Wednesday’s conversation, they’ll dive into a variety of factors influencing immigration, from changes in U.S. immigration policies over time to the war on drugs to escalating violence in Central America.
David Leblang Charlottesville Daily Progress
Lawrence H. Summers and Bob Bruner
Lessons from the 2008–09 financial crisis
Liz Ivaniw Jones Darden School of Business